RAJYA SABHA(Hindi: House of the Lords), the Rajya SabhaHindi“Council of States”the upper house of India’s bicameral (based on two legislative chambers) Parliamentlegislature. The Rajya Sabha was designed by the framers of the Indian Constitution constituted Rajya Sabha constitution as a body to check any hasty legislation passed by the check on the power of the Lok Sabha (Lower House “House of Parliamentthe People”), to revise bills, and protect the the legislature’s lower house. It represents the interests of the states and union territories.

The chairman of the Rajya Sabha is the vice-president of India. The Rajya Sabha can may have a maximum of 250 membersincluding 12 nominated by the president of India. It represents the interests of the states, which form an integral part of the federal system and its members are elected by the members of the , most of whom are elected to six-year terms by the legislative assemblies of the states and the Union Territories. Allocation union territories; 12 are appointed by the president of India. The allocation of seats to the states and the Union Territories each state and union territory is determined on the basis of their population. The house is not subject to dissolution and is permanent. One-third of its members retire every two years on expiry of their six-year term and subsequent elections are held to fill the vacant seats. It is not necessary that a party in majority in the Lok Sabha have a majority in the Rajya Sabha as well.Though the Constitution accords the Lok Sabha with some special functions, both the houses are vested with equal powers. The Rajya Sabha shares the right with the Lok Sabha to elect or impeach the president and the vice-president of India. Along with the Lok Sabha the proclamation of a state of emergency must be passed through the Rajya Sabha also; and when the Lok Sabha is not in session it has the sole right to grant such approval. The legislative population, with each state or territory receiving a minimum of one seat. The terms of one-third of the house’s membership expire every two years. The majority parties in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha are not necessarily the same.

The powers of the Rajya Sabha are equivalent similar to that those of the Lok Sabhaexcept in the case of a money bill. Any bill introduced for amending the Constitution has to be passed by the Rajya Sabha. An ordinary bill . Most bills can be introduced in either houseof Parliament and has to . In order to become law, they must be approved by both the houses to become lawhouses and receive the assent of the president of India. The Rajya Sabhadoes not have the power to either , however, cannot introduce, reject, or amend any money revenue bills, save making recommendations - it is the total which are the sole prerogative of the Lok Sabhato do so. Moreover it is the speaker of the Lok Sabha who decides whether a bill introduced is a money bill or not. The council of ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha alone. Thus the power to pass a motion of no-confidence against the government is excluded from the ambit of the Rajya Sabha.The Constitution has however provided some exclusive powers to the Rajya Sabha. A state subject can be legislated on by Parliament if a resolution to that effect is passed by not less than two-thirds of the members of the Rajya Sabha who are present and voting. The Parliament can create one or more all-India services if such a resolution is adopted by the Rajya Sabha. Despite the apparent equality, the Lok Sabha, which is a directly elected body, is the more important of the either house of Parliament, nor can it issue a vote of confidence in the government, which is also the responsibility of the lower house. The Rajya Sabha nevertheless retains some exclusive powers, most notably the power to approve (by a two-thirds majority) all legislation pertaining to the states. Unlike the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha is not subject to dissolution by the prime minister.